Fifa Sepp Blatter: Comments About Gay Sex At Qatar 2022, Video

by NowPublic Staff | December 14, 2010 at 02:49 pm

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Qatar World Cup 2022: FIFA Boss, Sepp Blatter Comments About Gay Sex During Qatar 2022 Sparks Outrage (video)

Sepp Blatter, the head of FIFA is facing criticism for his flippant remarks regarding homosexuals and the treatment that gay people may encounter at the FIFA World Cup of Fottoball in Qatar in 2022.

Homosexuality and gay sex is illegal in Qatar - a sodomy conviction carries a 5 year prison sentence with possibility of lashes.

When asked at a media session in South Africa about the restrictive laws in Qatar criminalizing homosexual acts, Blatter suggested that gay soccer fans attending the 2022 World Cup “should refrain from any sexual activities” while in the Arab emirate.

Human rights groups are already upset with Sepp Blatter and the FIFA executive committee awarding the World Cup in 2022 to Qatar - a nation with a dismal human right record, particularly when it comes to homosexuals.

Sepp Blatter jokes about the risk to gay visitors in 2022, but Qatar's anti-gay policies are no laughing matter," British human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said.

John Amaechi also condemned Blatter's remarks. The former NBA player from Britain who revealed in 2007 that he was gay said on his website that "FIFA has endorsed the marginalization of LGBT people around the world."

While some may think world cup tourists and fans may somehow be exempt from Qatar's anti-homosexuality laws, Qatar seems to apply its laws regarding homosexuality to foreigners as well.

In most countries, foreigners, especially Westerners, are often immune to punitive action based on sexuality. In 1995, while the country's government was still under Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani, the father of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, with whom Cornell has been largely negotiating, an American citizen in Qatar was sentenced to receive 90 lashes during a 6-month prison term for "homosexual activity," according to the U.S. Department of State's report on human rights practices for 1996.

For many Fifa World Cup observers, Qatar was the surprise choice for hosting the World Cup of Football in 2022. The United States, Australia, South Korea and Japan were all in the running to host the World Cup in 2022.